An idiot as president?

SEN. MIRIAM DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO would not want idiots to run for president. But had a certified idiot ever sat in Malacañang?

Some people who were detached from reality ran in the past but they were easily unmasked and didn't pass scrutiny from Comelec or the voters.

The feisty senator supports the idea of requiring a college degree for those who want to be president, vice president or lawmaker in the House or Senate. But would a college education rule out idiots and assure wisdom in seats of power?

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If an idiot is defined as very foolish or stupid person or someone retarded with the mentality or a two-year-old child, it's doubtful if voters wouldn't recognize him or her on public stage.

The problem has not been lack of mental capacity of our top leaders. It has been the loss of good values or failure to keep those values once they assume office.

One president was called "walang alam" (no knowledge) but that leader held the nation together in the shift from dictatorship to democracy.

Another president was hailed as brilliant but that leader is now accused of looting the country's coffers.

Democracy

Miriam ran for president in 1992, which exposed her to the un-validated charge of mental imbalance, which is worse than idiocy. ("What's Miriam Santiago's favorite watch?" "Seiko-Patek.") She didn't win not because the voters didn't think, ala Billy Joel, "maybe it was a lunatic they were looking for" but because more people preferred Fidel Ramos's cigar-chomping to her frothing-in-the-mouth.

Democratic rights, alas, include the right to elect idiots to the Palace or Congress.

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